Piranha's Retreat
by Kitty Obsessive Disorder
Summary: Reiko works for the best hotel in the country. Each day is as boring as the last, until Mr. Hatori Sohma comes and sweeps her off her feet. The only thing she doesn't know is that there is a huge secret he can't tell her. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Piranha's Retreat: Chapter 1:**

"Reiko, what the hell are you doing?" The harsh voice of my mother ripped through my daydream of my prince-to-come. "The Sohma family needs another room prepared right now!"

"Sorry, mom, what room needs to be prepared?" I asked, autopilot taking over, not my mouth of sarcastic replies.

"Room 367, and don't forget to put the basket of fresh fruit on the desk, not the bed. The citric gets into the sheets, and is harder to clean up."

"That was one time, mom, I didn't mean to do that, I was just daydreaming. And why does it have to be room 367? That room was trashed last night."

"Because the Sohma family specifically requested that room, now, no more whining, and go clean that room with that new girl, Amu Hinamori. You have less then one hour." Turning on her toes, she left the back room, where I happened to organizing the new fruits baskets we always give to our guests.

I walked out of the back room, in order to see my mother checking out a couple that was apparently very famous or something, not that I would know, despite the simple fact that famous people always came by the Piranha's Retreat each year.

"Yo, Amu, we gotta clean up aisle 367 before the hour is up." I said, disturbing the pretty pink haired girl from her one minute of rest on the couch in the staff room as I popped my head into the room.

She grabbed all the gear as I opened the staff's elevator. Keeping the doors open for my younger friend, we made our way up to the fourth (and highest) floor. Amu had mad, super ninja skills when it came to cleaning these rooms to perfection. I was just the sidekick, but I somehow ranked higher than her, which was surprising even to me.

One of the rare things my mother's hotel did was to escort our guests to their suits after they checked in, that way they didn't get lost. I got to escort everyone on the fourth floor, this guy (a.k.a. my freakish alien brother) Tadase Hotori helped me out on that floor. Nagihiko Fujisaki and Rima Mashiro did the third floor, and I'm pretty sure that this chick named Yaya Yuki and Kairi Sanjo took over the second floor (I don't have time to socialize with my coworkers much, since I try not to stay at the hotel for too long fearing I'll lose the little sane partical left in my head).

We had a total of 370 rooms. I'm pretty certain that all the restaurants and other amenities are on the first floor. While the first hundred or so rooms are on the second floor. Following the same pattern for the rest of the hotel suits, never in the life of my parent's hotel have all the rooms been occupied at once (thankfully).

"Reiko, are you going to the animal right's ball your parent's are hosting?" Amu asked me as we made the bed.

"Do I have any other choices? Please, it's not like I'd disappoint all the helpless little animals like that." Anyway, I was doing a surprise entertainment at the ball, approved by my mother of course. "Are you going with your boyfriend? Ikuto Tsukiyomi, isn't it?"

"Yeah," a slight blush filled Amu's cheeks, "he said that he had a surprise for me." A wink told me that he didn't have the entire situation a surprise.

"Oh my god, no way!" I squealed. It didn't take a magician to figure out where she was going.

"Anyway, are you going with anyone?" the dreaded question was asked, how _dreadful_!

"Yup, I plan to go with Chestnut." I said, thankful that animals were allowed at this ball.

"Your German Sheppard?" Amu snorted a bit, I told my mom this last night, she had the same reaction.

"Nope, my butterfly," pausing for a second after adding my sarcastic reply, "Yes my little puppy."

"Is he even potty trained?" she totally ignored my sarcastic reply, how rude!

"Yes." I placed the fruit basket on the table, and plugged in a new lamp as Amu took the broken lamp out of the room. Mother sure liked to work me half to death, perhaps she thought I wouldn't wallow in self-pity if I had too much work to do.

Luckily the room trashed by a diva wasn't broken completely, only the lamp was broken. 'Don't ask questions' was the first rule of my self-proclaimed rule book.

"Hey, Reiko, do you know what the Sohma family is like?" Amu asked me as we brought all the dirty laundry and trash down to the 'graveyard', our nickname for the trash and laundry room.

"Don't know, last time they were all here I was out sick with the flu." I stated simply, "I met two of them though, they were real nice. I think they were on their honey moon. But either way, I'll bet they're all mostly spoiled fools."

"Reiko! That's so rude!" Amu squealed, as we sat down for our one minute rest after we put everything away again.

"I guess," I checked my watch for the time, crap only five minutes until the check in times started, "Gotta go change, Amu, see you soon!" I said, as I rushed off to the changing room, and changed into my dark green suit, my work uniform when I wasn't on cleaning mode. As I slipped into my heels, my skirt smoothed, and my hair brushed and tied back, I walked to the front desk awaiting the new guests.

The hotel colors were green and blue. The women always wore dark green uniforms, and the men had the dark blue uniforms. Not that I cared, green was my favorite color.

A large party came in through the front door, just as the hour marking a new day's work dinged it's motherly dong.

"Welcome to Piranha's Retreat, how may I help you?" my mother asked the group's spokesman.

"We have three rooms reserved under the name of Sohma." The guy had black hair, wore a suit, and had this unmistakable aura of somebody who didn't like cracking smiles once in a while.

My mother exchanged words with the man, and everything was all set. My mother waved over to me, and my autopilot mode was set.

"Please follow your guide to your rooms."

"Hello, my name is Reiko, and I shall be your guide throughout your stay, so please contact me if you have any questions or problems. I'll be pleased to help." Hello to my mechanically learned lesson, "The pool and computer room is open at all times, as are the game rooms. The restaurant is open 6 am to 9 pm, so feel free to go and eat at any time. Your free breakfast is served 6 am to 10 am. The animal right's ball will be held on Friday, please feel free to attend; it is a charity ball after all. A raffle shall be held to help abused animals."

One of the men whispered something in the ear of the serious dude, only to be wacked in the head by a book I haven't even noticed before. As we reached their rooms, finally, I told them that all three rooms had wonderful views, to enjoy their stay, and their bags would already be in their rooms already.

As I turned to leave for the elevator, one of the men, the one who got wacked on the back of the head, stopped me in my tracks by asking if I had already had a date to the ball.

"What's your first name, sir?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Shigure Sohma." He stretched his hand to shake mine, which I readily ignored.

"Well, Shigure Sohma, I do have a date, and he's very handsome, unlike you." I turned on my heels, and walked coolly to the elevator, wishing I had a different job. Anyway, if my mother found out what I just said to a guest, she'd kill me. A heard stifled laughter from behind me; I didn't bother to see who it was.

I did distinctly hear, "She told you, Shigure!" a childish voice had said. I smiled; thank god I wasn't shot in the head. That would be a damper on my job outlook for some strange reason. I heard a light thud, the sound of footsteps behind me, I hoped it wasn't that Shigure dude; I'd die if it was. Nope, it was serious dude.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Reiko, he's very immature at times." His deep voice caught me off guard, even though I heard his voice checking in before."My name is Hatori Sohma." He too offered his hand for me to shake.

Sighing internally, I accepted his hand shake. "Its fine, I just get fed up sometimes, you don't know how many arrogant men come up just to ask me out. It's always been one of my sore spots. Accept my apology, I didn't mean to treat you brother like that."

"He's my cousin, not my brother." He corrected me gently.

"I'm sorry again. I'm always bad at guessing relationships."

"No problem, I'll see you around then." He said, leaving me to go and do my job again. Today was going to be a long day, well, longer than most days.

As I stepped back into the world of the living, my mother scolded me, "Reiko, what took you so long? I hope you didn't treat our guests like vermin again."

Although her accusation was surprisingly accurate, I decided to play innocent again, "Why do you always expect the worst in me, mother?"

"Since you've been known to do that." She stated, her calm attitude took into affect again, annoying the hell out of me.

Deciding to ignore it, I asked, "Where's the prince geek? Escorting some other's to their room?"

"_Tadase_ went home with the flu. So you better step it up today." My mother, the queen of evil, "And you still haven't told me what took you so long with the Sohma family. There hasn't been any problems, had there?"

"Nope, just talking to that Hatori dude." I said cheerfully, pretending to enjoy myself with an apple. My mother just showed as much shock as her forced calmness would allow.

"Why?"

"Reason's I'll be happy to keep to myself." I said, I'm not bad at ending discussions myself. The day went back to normal, the normal rudeness from guests, and the occasional nice ones.

But this Hatori Sohma caught my mind today, and I have no reason why to think about him, unless I was attracted to him, which was simply impossible. He just seemed to be familiar, a face from a memory long forgotten. Crap, this _sucks_ like pickles on a tarp, I have to go on vacation, otherwise I think I'm going to become crazy for real.

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**Authors Note: This chapter has been edited (roughly)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Piranha's Retreat: Chapter 2**

Tonight was going to be hell, and I'm proud of it! I was going to the mall to find the perfect dress for the Animal Rights' ball with my best-friend since collage, Utau Hoshina. Who in fact, is one of those rare few people who I know for a fact is famous. As I awaited her fancy arrival, I changed into something more comfy then a skirt. Yup, and you know it, my faithful old blue jeans. God, casual clothing was the best thing in the world.

"Reiko, we really have to work on your wardrobe soon." A pretty voice scolded me from behind as I watched the 'innocent' little piranha's swim around their fishy tank. "How else are you going to pick up a handsome boyfriend?"

I turned a little too fast, and almost fell flat on my face before being helped back up by my blond-headed friend.

"I'll update my wardrobe once I have a handsome boyfriend to impress." I said, wishing that I had Chestnut by my side; I'd die if I have to get a new wardrobe. "Utau, you really need to learn how to greet somebody."

"I'll learn how to greet somebody once you learn how to flirt." She shot back. I sighed, she was never going to learn how to greet somebody!

"Are we going to that hell-hole they call a mall? Or are we going to stay here arguing if I can get a boyfriend?"

"We're going, do you have everything?"

I dramatically put my head to my forehead, "Why must everyone assume I'm as thick as a coconut?" I cried dramatically and faked it all the way.

"Because you are, now let's go!" Utau grabbed my arm, and dragged me to her limo, as she laughed hysterically as I pretended to be a prisoner going into a cop's car.

At the mall, Utau must have tried on at least a million or so dresses, each very pretty on her. Not like I could compare to her majestic beauty and supermodel body, my dark brown hair looked so plain next to my green eyes and slightly tanned skin. Heck, if my hair was green, I'd look like a tree gone wrong, the color of bark would look completely pale compared to normal bark, and then the fact that having a nose and a mouth was not usual for a tree.

Utau finally found her perfect dress, which happened to be a purple cocktail dress with more shimmer then you could say a very complicated tongue twister in a day completely correct. But that's when it happened, we ran into that Hatori dude.

Well, I ran into him, or walked into him, or even accidently fell on him. I can't tell which, so _why bother remembering_?

"Ms. Reiko! It's a surprise seeing you here." Utau arched her eyebrows, realizing that we met sometime before, god, there was going to be a top rate interrogation once Hatori left! SAVE ME!

"Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Hatori, you aren't following me are you?" I asked lightly, and pretended to dust myself off before offering my hand to help him up. He accepted, and he had a surprisingly firm grip, something I didn't happen to remember from this morning.

"Nope, I'm here with my cousin, Ayame. He needs to get some fabric, for reasons I dare not ask." He mentioned his other cousin, as he tilted his head to a guy (or girl, I couldn't tell which at first) with gold eyes and long silver hair looking at a bunch of cloth. "May I ask you what you're doing here? I was under the impression you worked longer shifts."

"Already did my jail work today, started since 9 in the morning, gotta take a break sometime, otherwise I think I may die of boredom." Stating the obvious, and ignoring his other question, "Have you met my good friend Utau Hoshina?" I asked all innocently just as if she was going to die with her observational skills.

"No, I believe not, how are you, Ms. Hoshina?" he said, reverting his attention to my friend. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took out some water and drank deeply.

"Good, Mr. Sohma. Why do you call Reiko by her first name and me by my last name?" she asked sweetly.

"She never told me her last name." Hatori stated simply.

"Why is that, Reiko?" Utau was going to die, once I found my perfect dress.

"Cause I hate it when men look up my phone number in the phonebook and call me at all hours. It happens to ruin my rest." Utau knew perfectly well that I never told my last name to strangers. Her name, on the other hand, was a different story.

"Hatori, I found it! The most perfect cloth for my darling little brother, nothing but the best for my Yuiki!" The overexcited cousin said, sauntering over to Hatori, while setting off the security alarms.

"I have to go now." Hatori said, managing a look of annoyance on his face of perfect seriousness.

"'Kay, see you some other time!" I called, watching him stalk over to Ayame, who was being spoken too by some security guards, it was a funny sight.

"Reiko, spill." Utau commanded as we went back into the store, to scavenge something for myself.

"He's a guest at the Piranha's Retreat; I escorted his family to their rooms. End of story. Well, except for the fact one of his cousins, I think his name is Shigure, is a complete arrogant ass." I said, mechanically lifting up a puke green dress. "What about this one?"

"Absolutely not!" Utau almost shrieked in her highest pitched voice, while snatching it out of my hand. Did I mention she attracted the confused looks of the store clerks?

Uh oh, that dude called Ayame flounced his way over, looking like he wanted to help any fashion mayhem that had caused a pop star to shriek.

"Hide me, please!" I yelped quietly, as I tried to hide behind Utau.

"I've heard a scream for the help of me, Ayame Sohma, and my assistant Mine!" he declared in his most obnoxious voice he could possible use. A girl with black pigtails and round glasses looked at me with scrutiny. "How may we be of assistance?"

"Help her find her sense of style, Mr. Sohma." Utau said, betraying me to the fashion devil. I was about to make a run for it, but unfortunately, the girl, Mine, grabbed me, and was talking fashion like there was no tomorrow.

"I will kill you, Utau, once I find the perfect dress." I threatened, only to be out of breath to be with a few _billion_ dresses thrust at me by a maid.

"But you'll at least have the perfect dress!" Utau sang.

"Reiko, Hatori told me about you, he said that you would make a great hostess for any party!" Ayame trilled, this is why I don't go shopping, ever. _Why me_? "Mine, what do you think, should she try on something green?"

"Sure, Ayame, that color would look so cute on her!" the girl said, looking only too excited.

"Must breathe now!" I gasped, I think the clerks of the store needed open heart surgery, their store, after all, was being overturned by a fashion dude.

"Ahh, something loose, I suppose, but nothing to revealing, I wouldn't want Hatori to get the wrong impression." Hatori came to see what was going on, only to be shocked with what his cousin stirred up in such a short time. Utau, of course, was texting somebody, most likely her boyfriend, Kukai Soma. "Mine, your right! Green does look cute on Reiko. Now, only the style left."

Utau was laughing, hard, like she had to pee in her pants. "Utau, call the ambulance, I think I'm going to die with stress!"

"Hatori is a doctor, no need to call the ambulance, I'm sure he'll patch anything up that is wrong with you, won't you, Haa-san?" Bringing to my dim-witted attention span, that Hatori was watching the whole scene. I blushed. And Utau laughed even harder. She even took a picture of this.

"Ayame, leave Ms. Reiko some peace. I'm sure you wore her down enough already." Surprisingly, the evil dude left me alone at once, causing me to tumble with all the dresses. "I'm sorry for the disturbance my cousin gave you."

"No problem," I managed to gasp as accepted his hand up, "at least I found the perfect dress for the Animal Right's ball. Chestnut will be thrilled!"

"Chestnut?" the confusion outlined his features. Seeing as I haven't changed at all, I started to put back the dresses on the rack.

"My dog, since animals are allowed, I decided he'll be my date. He is handsome after all, and plus, he's my entire act." I blushed a bit more; luckily, the fact that my hands got to do something helped me out a lot. I kept only one dress out of the rack, a pretty green dress, simple, barely any shine to it, except a faint glimmer. And a simple silver sash told me that it wasn't a complete waste of time here.

"Aren't you going to try that on?" Hatori asked, in surprise, I only found myself to be laughing.

"Try it on?" I asked, like it was a foreign idea, "Yes, I will, once I get home. If I don't like it, I'll return it and find another dress."

"Reiko is funny like that." Utau chimed in, she was lucky she was my best friend, otherwise she'd be killed with a single blow to the head. She had it lucky, I only punched a little bit hard on her arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Ratting me out to the fashion king over there." I hissed, pointing to the guy who needed a haircut.

"He's the very best, Reiko, you should be happy he was willing to help for free."

"At least he didn't kill me this time, Utau, now you know why I don't like shopping!"

"Because of random strangers that happen to help you with your shopping experience?"

"Bingo." I said, plainly. Then remembering Hatori, I turned to him, "Sorry for the delay in your departure, Mr. Sohma, I'll be going now." I curtly said rubbing me hands over my temples; a headache was burning away from the inside or my brain.

"Goodbye, Ms. Reiko." Hatori said before leaving with his two companions in tow.

"Wanna try that dress on now?" Utau asked, once the guests were gone. I heard the collective sigh of relief from the store clerks.

"Why not? At least I'm not holding that puke green dress. It was hideous." I said, we linked our arms and headed to the dressing rooms.

"You knew?" Utau asked in a stage whisper.

"The whole time, I just wanted to draw the attention of Mr. Drama King first. See what they thought would look good."

"Sometimes I don't know if I should fear you or not."

"Dunno, but how does this look?" I asked, coming out, and twirling in the green dress.

"Perfect, and took a whole lot _less_ of trying on dresses to find this dress than my dress."

We purchased our merchandise, apologized to the poor store clerks, and made our way back to the hotel. Mother took one look at me, after I said goodbye to Utau, and motioned me to come over to her.

"Your father told me he wanted to see you soon. I don't know why, but you shouldn't keep him waiting." I looked at her, her face was drained, and I knew better then to contradict her. I made my way to the room that I knew my father was in. Only to come to complete darkness, and the sound of someone struggling to breathe coming from where I knew the bed was, and it was even louder than all of the equipment.

"Reiko, you came." My father said, struggling to say the words.

"Of course, Papa, but you need light." I said, keeping the façade of happy, while opening his curtains. More of his hair fell out today, making him almost completely bald. The tubes coming through his body was a sight for sore eyes, and he looked defeated today.

"I'm going to die soon, Reiko." More forced words.

"No you're not, Papa, you're going to win the fight." I said optimistically, lying through my teeth.

"I'm dying, and you know it, daughter." His old self came through this time, to come to a fit of coughing. "I just wanted to say that I wanted to see your first child, your husband, your wedding. I wanted to walk you down the aisle."

"Papa." I said, to be interrupted by a weak rumble of words coming from his mouth.

"Promise me you'll find happiness, Reiko, promise me!"

"Of course, Papa." I said, while the nurse came in, to bustle my turtle butt out of there.

I walked slowly to my own room, only to collapse into my bed. Defeat grew from each corner of my body. My father was dying of lung cancer, all caused because he smoked.

A large bundle of fur told me that Chestnut was there, comforting each part of my body. Eventually, perhaps after hours, the brief visit to my dad wore off, and I went out to jog with my only brother. A huge, furry, funny brother. The headache I accumulated from before burst into my head again, pounding each corner of my meager existence.

Once Chestnut did his business, we went back inside, and I downed a couple of Advil tablets. Not even bothering to unpack my new dress, I fell asleep, shoes and all.

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**Authors Note: This chapter has been edited (roughly)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Piranha's Retreat: Chapter 3**

I woke up in complete darkness. Nothing unusual, but when I got up, I realized I was still fully dressed. Groaning, I realized that last night I was worn out just like dynamite felt after it was used. "Chestnut, let's go for a walk." I said, my voice still groggy, considering it was only 5 am. Chestnut gave me a look that told me to go back to bed.

Instead, I got up, and gave him his breakfast, which got a much more perky reaction. I went to boil some water while I took a quick shower, I had to get the shopping germs off of me someway or the other. By the time I got out, I could make myself some tea, and read a good book that I found a few days ago. It was called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, and has a very interesting summary.

By the time I finished the first chapter and my tea, Chestnut had to go for a walk, so I slipped my feet into some flip flops, put my damp hair in a messy ponytail, and grabbed the leash. I still had about a half hour before I could get my breakfast. I enjoyed having breakfast with the guests, it makes me feel less lonely.

Before I could even make my way out the main lobby door, I met him again. I really think he's stalking me.

"Ms. Reiko, what are you doing up so early?" he asked, looking slightly surprised to see me and my dog.

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm really starting to think that you're stalking me." I said lightly, while walking onwards until we reached the grassy parts of the lawn. As Hatori took out a cigarette I looked at him witheringly. "Mr. Hatori, you'll kill yourself if you continue to smoke."

"I know, just a bad habit." He said as he lit it, "I'm sorry for yesterday, Ayame is a handful."

"No problem, I found a great dress. That's all I could ask for." I said, picking up Chestnut's poop. "Mr. Hatori, meet Chestnut." I remembered my handsome little dog when he accidently crashed into my legs.

"You're right; he is very handsome Ms. Reiko. But why do you always call me Mr. Hatori?"

"Oh, that, well, considering that you have a large family, I find it easier to remember the first names. I was out sick when, I believe, your entire family was here. But I do believe that I met a Mrs. Tohru Sohma and Mr. Kyo Sohma a few years ago. Are they related to you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Hatori said, "You have a great memory."

"Thank you, I only remember the kind guests, or the exceptionally rude." I said, I had mastered the art of avoiding the rude people by my second year of working here.

"Which do I fall under?" Hatori asked, looking at me with interest. I looked away for a second before meeting his glance, and answering him.

"You're a kind guest." I stated as I unconsciously started to pet Chestnut. "And you also remind me of someone. I don't know who, but defiantly someone in my past." It was his turn to look away uncomfortably; I decided to ignore it, why should I care anyway?

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Animal's Right ball with me." Hatori admitted to my face. I'll never understand why men always asked me about this stuff.

I smiled slightly, and scratching Chestnut a little harder.

"What do you say, Chestnut? Should we allow Mr. Hatori to escort us to the ball? Or shall we allow him to flounder away like all the other countless victims? Oops, I meant guests." I looked at my doggy, while he sniffed the man. He then wagged his tail, and started to vigorously lick his hand. I smiled harder, "I guess you have your answer Mr. Hatori, I'd be glad to come with you. On one condition."

"Which is?" Hatori prompted me.

"Just call me Reiko, I don't like hearing Ms. It makes me feel old." I said.

"Then call me Hatori. And Reiko, you're defiantly not old."

"Thanks. Shall we go inside now?" I looked at the sky, "It looks like it should start raining soon."

"Would you like to join my family for breakfast this morning? They've been interested in you since well, since you greeted us."

I blushed slightly, "Sure, but, I don't know why they would think I'm interesting." I started to walk down to my room, wondering if he was following me. As I reached to my door, Hatori answered my statement.

"You have an interesting personality." He said simply, "May I come in?"

"Why not? It's not like you're going to kill my room's aura." I shook my head slightly as I let Chestnut off his leash. "I don't have that unique of a personality." I added once Hatori stepped into my room.

My room was defiantly small for a place to live in for any length of time. I had a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a table with chair for my kitchen. My living room consisted of a small love seat, coffee table, and a second hand TV. My bedroom consisted of a queen size bed and a night stand. And all in the shape of a single room, no need to walk into walls here. I was surprised he didn't have any rude comments, considering Utau said that the Sohma family was loaded with cash.

"So who am I meeting at breakfast?" I asked, glancing at my watch quickly, only 5 minutes until the breakfast bar opened up. Luckily, I didn't have to help with breakfast; my mother hired some other cronies to do that work.

"Just some of my cousins, Akito, Shigure, Momiji, Hatsuharu, Rin, Ayame, and Mine have all decide it was time for a trip. Naturally, I had to be come to make sure they didn't destroy everything in their paths."

"Large group, 'kay, let's go then." I said, grabbing him and rushing out the door, making sure I locked it again. Wouldn't want anyone to steal my babies coffin, now would we? We were a minute early, "Mwahaha, we're here a minute early. Aren't we evil Hatori?" I asked, looking around the room, nope, Tadageek just wasn't here yet. "Cool, no spy's today." I said, sitting down at one of the round tables.

"Why would there be spies here?" Hatori asked, confusedly, he obviously couldn't read my mind.

"The owner likes to watch her cronies, ah, I mean worker bees. So she send in some other worker bees to spy on the other, off duty, worker bees." I said, scanning the room for hidden cameras, "Does that make any sense?"

"Vaguely." Was Hatori's curt reply, a small kiddish dude skipped into the room, followed by a black and white haired dude, and a girl wearing a miniskirt and low-cut tank-top all heading this way. Now, if my memory was clear, and not foggy, these where part of his group when they checked in. "Here comes some of my cousins now."

"Hatori! Did you know that everybody here is really nice? Somebody gave me this huge lollypop last night! And said I should enjoy it! And this blond haired dude told me to enjoy breakfast today!" the hyper kid was an inch away from bouncing up and down on the ceiling.

"Wait, a blond dude? About this tall, side bangs, and hair sticking up in places?" I asked the kid dude. Making gestures with my hands. The kid nodded very energetically, "Well, this puts a damper on my day." I said, waiting for the upcoming banging (literally, since the doors scared the hell out of kid dude) entrance of Tadageek.

"That's just plain mean, Reiko." Tadase said, I ignored him, as I tried to punch him in the arm, "Mom wants to see you, Reiko, she wants to discuss your routine for tomorrow's performance. " he paused as he returned the blow, "Right now, so don't give me any excuses."

"Can I just sit here, sip some coffee, and meet some guests first? I don't want to go see her yet!" I whined.

"Since when do you drink coffee? I thought you were a tea person. And I can only give you five minutes before walking back there empty handed, and telling her I couldn't find you."

"Thanks, Tadadork!" I called after him, as he left me in peace. "That, was the spy I was talking about, Hatori." I said, slumping in my chair for a second, before opening my purse up, and dry swallowing an advil. "My guess is that you're not Shigure, Mine, or Ayame." I said, scrutinizing the new kids standing before me. "So my guess is that you're Momiji," I said, pointing to the kid-dude, "you're Hatsuharu," I said to the black and white hair dude, "and you must be Akito?" I asked, slightly unsure of who the female was.

"Close, my name is Rin Sohma." She said, looking slightly annoyed that I got the boys right, and her name completely wrong.

"Sorry about that, I was using the power of deduction." I said lightly, I got up, grabbed a bagel, no spreading's on it, and a cup of orange juice. I looked at my wrist watch, to find that it was no longer ticking. So, instead I looked up at the wall clock in the room. Great, only 3 more minutes until I have to run down to my mother's office and go over what I was going to do again.

"Otherwise, well done!" Momiji said, looking even happier than he did 2 minutes ago.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go to the witch's castle, so I must leave you to your breakfast. See you around if you're not out of your rooms when I come around to clean, well, only if there isn't 'please do not disturb' sign on your door!" I said, "If I don't see you then, I'll see you just around, after all, it's not like this place is a maze." I said. I waved goodbye to them, and they waved goodbye to me, as I left the room with my loot, a bagel and some juice.

As I walked down to my mother's office, the place she stayed in whenever there wasn't anyone at the main desk, I realized that I actually did find Hatori to be amazingly cute.

I knocked on her door, before making my grand entrance. "Mom, you wanted to see me?" I asked, as I looked at the women who gave birth to me, and my only brother, Tadase Hotori.

'Yes come in, as you know the Animal Right's Ball is being held tomorrow, we're going to be short a few hands, and since you don't have a date yet, I was wondering about putting you on the waiter's team." Yeah, Mom! You remembered that my birthday was tomorrow! Perhaps you also remember the simple little fact that every worker gets a day off on their birthday?

"Mother, I do happen to have a date." I said, looking at her with poison eyes.

"Going with your dog doesn't count." She replied sharply.

"Ouch, Mother," I said, pretending to wince, "Do you really not know? I thought your little camera spies told you all? I'm going with Hatori Sohma."

"Our highly regarded, doctor guest?" my mother asked, looking surprise. Please, it's not like I'm that bad at choosing guys! I only dated a drug addict/trafficer before I decided to stop seeing random men. Not doing too well in that department, but I had a gut feeling Hatori was a nice man.

"Oh, he's a doctor?" I asked, slightly surprised at that once the detail started to sink in my peanut sized brain.

"Yes. And if you piss him off, he may never come back! So don't piss him off! And treat him with respect!" my mother cried, in an impressive outburst.

"Does that mean I get to go to the ball without working, except for the act I volunteered willingly?" I asked, stars in my eyes with hopefulness.

"Fine, but don't piss him off, I'll be watching you." My mother said. Hooray!

"'Kay then, see you later!" I called as I rushed out the door, my mother must have thought I was crazy as I raced back to the breakfast hall, wondering if he was still there. As I bombarded into the room, knowing I left my Advil behind, I walked up behind Hatori and demanded, "Hatori, did you see my Advil here? I could have sworn I left it here!"

A realized something, arrogant dude, hyper dude, a new girl, and the maid were added to the group from before. It looked like arrogant dude was hitched with the new girl, sitting next to him.

"Reiko, we were just talking about the Animal Rights ball." Crap, they found out. Okay, the mission, get my Advil, move to America, and never again set foot in Japan again if I don't want to die of embarrassment. Arrogant dude was smirking like he won a bet or something.

"Really? Well I was just talking to myself and said that I had to have my Advil if I want to live." I said coldly to one and only, Shigure Sohma a.k.a. Arrogent dude.

"Advil? I believe that Haa-san has that! He said that he was going to give it to you when he next saw you." Shigure, the evil, or the most repulsive crap-head ever alive. Or so my aunt says to describe her ex-author/client. Her name is, after all, is Mitsuru Hotori.

I held my hand out to Hatori, who gave me back my little white and blue bottle of pills. "Thanks, Hatori!" I said cheerily, "Oh, yeah, Shigure, Mitsu-chan told me to tell you that she found a new client, and is happily working without practical jokes going on every minute of every day." I said, turning my voice cold full force all the way.

"You know Mitsuru?" Mwahahaha! Shigure's face was priceless.

"Well she is my aunt. Of course she hates my mother's guts, but hey, at least she still talks to me!" I said, unconsciously rubbing my head. A loud 'achem' came from the new girl. "Hey! You must be Ms. Akito!" I said, offering my hand out for her to shake, her short black hair featured her sharp planes on her face.

"Yes, and you must be Reiko." She said, her voice sounded harsher than I expected, defiantly not a gushy kind of girl.

"Yuppie do da!" I sang as I looked at my watch, only one more hour before I got to clean a few dirty rooms. "Hatori met Chestnut this morning; you guys have to see him too! He's like a furry ball of evil and cute! He gets into everything and anything, including my baby coffin! At one point he even knocked the entire thing over!" I gushed completely ignoring the confused looks of the other guests.

I glanced at the door behind me, because I heard an all too familiar voice.

"Reiko!" mother's harsh voice called at me. Great, just what I needed, another reason to wince. "What the heck are you doing here? We need all hands on deck today! Another huge reservation is being met today." My 'friends' blinked slightly; surprised I was treated so harshly.

"Sorry, ma'am, got a little side tracked." I said gingerly, pretending that she wasn't' my mother, cause that's the best way to treat her in times like this.

"Then go get changed, and go talk to your father, your brother is waiting with him." She said, before returning to her good grace and smiling so charmingly to our guests. "How is your stay? I hope everything is fine, and I hope Reiko didn't do anything rash!" I left the room; feeling like every eye was trained onto me.

As I walked slowly back to my room, I felt a pain, not in my head, but in my heart. Like I knew what was really coming. As I changed into the all familiar dark green skirt and white shirt, Chestnut looked at me like I was crazy as I threw my larger purse down, and took my coin purse. I felt like talking to him, but I didn't have the time. While hopping up and down, trying to put on my shoes, I made my way too my parent's headquarters.

"Papa, may I come in?" I asked softly, while knocking.

"You may, Reiko." The hoarse whisper of my father almost made me run away. The room was dark again, the curtains were drawn closed.

"Papa, you need light, without light it's hard to see in here." I said, going over to open the blinds, to be stopped by my brother. He had the same eyes and hair as our father. I got the look of my grandmother, a wonderful woman who should have stayed alive longer.

"Reiko, not tonight." My father said, his voice was as harsh as it could be. I turned silent, looking at him, emotionless. "I've called you, my children, because I need to discuss my will to you." I watched, with horror filled eyes. He was still talking about death, I couldn't listen. It was too sad, too much memory was trying to fill my brain, but I listened as hard as I could, trying to ignore the pain growing in my head.

As my father was rambling on about what he left us, I noticed that his voice was getting softer as he started to sink back down into an un-restful slumber. As Tadase and I tip toed out the room, it was time to start work.

"Sorry, bro, gotta go work for the ice queen!" I said, pretending to bounce back into my peppy façade.

"Alright, but don't forget to hang up that new dress you got. Otherwise it'll wrinkle, and I don't have time to straighten it up for you." Tadase reminded me, again, for the 50th time this month.

"Seriously, it's getting annoying how people think I can be so thick sometimes. I already hanged it up!" I lied, to be honest, I forgot all about it until now. "Jeez, just because you moved out before I did, that doesn't mean I'm any less intelligent than you."

"Never said you were." Gahh! Tadageek made it hard for me to be mad at him! He's such a dork sometimes, however, this wasn't that time.

"Hey are you working tomorrow night?" I asked, playing with the cart, and also waiting for super cleaning girl to clock in so we could get started.

"No, mom never asked me too work. So I'm bringing a date." I sighed. "Why? Did she ask you?" Thankfully I didn't have to go work.

"I'm going with Hatori Sohma. Ever heard of him? I never did until now." Of course, work started, so me and Amu had to get to work before I heard his reply. "Amu, darling, you've heard of the Sohma family. I was wondering if you knew why they were 'famous'."

"They're filthy rich and a huge family," Amu said as we made a bed, "Ikuto hung out with these guys named Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori. He said that Hatori was very serious, and Ayame and Shigure liked to pretend they were lovers."

"Eww!" I screeched softly, "You mean they like to pretend that they really gay?" as we started to get into a discussion of whether they were acting or not, as we did our diligent jobs, the day went on as normal, with no more accidental meetings with Hatori or his family, even when we cleaned they're rooms, they seemed to have just gone to see the sights. And yes, that was the very huge, highlight of my day.

* * *

**Author's Note: This chapter has been edited (roughly)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Piranha's Retreat: Chapter 4:**

Today is the ball. Aka, the same day as a million years ago, the day after my dad discussed his will, the same exact day I was planning to hang out with my friends for a couple of drinks and perform for a ball. Not the alcoholic beverages, more like coffee, cake, and other sweets. I still had to work tomorrow, but hey, who cares about keeping their jobs anymore? And besides I got this really great offer in the countryside, as a doctor.

See, I'm not successful because I don't have the right training, I'm not successful because I wanted to watch over my little brother and my father. And my father's glum mood didn't help much; he would think the world was going to end if he was allowed too.

I woke up early in the morning, make that 3 in the morning. I went to the weight room to run a bit before taking a shower and eating breakfast, and taking care of my faithful dog. As I ran I felt relieved, however I only ran 5 miles, nothing like my normal 10 miles I normally do.

"_Hatori! Stop tickling me!"_ a voice yelled in my mind. No, screaming, _"Awe, Hatori, I love it!"_

After I took a shower, I opened a scrapbook that I had lying around, the mystery, nothing was in it. I swore that I put pictures into the book, but I could never find it after I put it in. I don't even know how I got that scrapbook in the first place. I must be losing my mind. First I think I've seen Hatori Sohma somewhere before, now I'm having flashbacks that aren't even mine, not to mention that I had a bad case of déjà vu.

There was a knock at my door. I slipped into a pair of jeans quickly and opened the door slowly as I brushed my hair. "Hello, Utau, Rima, Amu." I said, automatically naming three girls who had a glint in their eyes saying that there was going to be a whole lot of squirming.

"Hello, Reiko." They cried in unison. Crap, they were going to make me wear the dress early.

"We came over to make sure you were perfect for the ball." Rima announced rather boldly for someone so short.

"And to use your bathroom, I haven't changed the light bulbs in my bathroom yet." Utau added, flaunting the fact she did not have her own house, even though she was insanely famous. I groaned.

"I was just about to eat breakfast." I said, wondering if I was going to see Hatori again, and to find out how we were going to meet for the ball.

"We'll come with you." Amu said, I must have looked sour because she added, "We won't eat anything, we already ate." She added. Smart of her too, considering only people who were guests were allowed to eat breakfast here, or if you're the daughter of the owners, which was rare indeed.

"Okay, come along." I sighed. They were going to find out earlier then I would like. And then I was really (not kidding) going to be interrogated.

"We have the whole day planned for you today. Pampering to the max!" Rima cried a little loud, which attracted the attention of Hatori, who was about to knock on the door once we opened the door.

"Reiko, I've been looking for you." Hatori said, looking just a tad uncomfortable with the scrutiny of the three girls.

"I thought you didn't know any of the Sohma's." Amu stated quietly.

"But I met him after I said that." I said, looking at a random person, not meeting the eyes of any of my friends, let alone Hatori himself. Then, trying to divert the attention, I said, "Hatori, what did you want to talk about."

"When I was going to pick you up from your room." He stated simply.

"Oh, you can pick me up at-"

"Six o'clock." Utau finished for me, "We'll make sure she's ready by then."

"I was going to say whatever time you wanted, but six is fine with me." I said looking at his amazingly cute eyes.

"Well bye, then, I guess."

"Okay, then, bye." I said, looking around at my friends as we went to get breakfast at a local coffee shop. "Thank god we didn't have to eat at the hotel. That was so embarrassing." I said, munching on a muffin. Hot chocolate was resting in my hand, and coffee was in the hands of my friends.

"Okay, you had your muffin and some hot chocolate, so since when have you been dating Hatori Sohma?" Utau demanded, attracting the attention of several customers.

"I haven't been dating him; he's just my date for the ball." I mumbled to my friends, who looked disbelieving, "I'd tell you all if I was dating somebody." I said, honestly.

Rima, Utau, and Amu looked at me under scrutiny. Until, finally, Rima said, after looking at Amu and Utau, "We believe you. But next time you won't get it so easy."

Utau flipped her hair out of her face, "Oh, yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Gee, thanks for remembering." I said sarcastically, playing with a strand of hair that kept on falling into my face, my dark brown hair that I use to dye dark purple with black undertones as a teenager. "But really, who are you going to the ball with, Rima?"

"Nagihiko Fujisaki." Rima stated rather simply. The reactions of Utau and Amu were sort of funny; they're faces were those of shock, pure shock.

"I THOUGHT YOU HATED HIM!" Amu basically screamed in my ears, okay, not the best idea to sit next to a shell shocked girl.

"I do, that's why I'm going with him. I'm blackmailing him, this is so fun!" _Great, my friends are just as evil as my old boyfriend_, I thought to myself as I sighed in defeat, I was never going to get kind friends, that didn't blackmail my male friends.

"Rima, did you ever think of just giving Nagihiko a rest?" I asked the little doll like creature, who could give enemies a hell of a life.

Her eyes slanted into dangerous gleams, "No."

I laughed nervously before changing the subject, "So when is my magical makeover going to happen?"

"Right after I finish drinking my coffee." Utau announced, I wanted to sink into tar pit.

"Crap," I mumbled, "I'm going to be a guinea pig for the whole day…" my voice trailed off with the little enthusiasm that I had mustered for sarcasm.

Utau, Rima, and Amu all giggled. This marked the first and last day of my life. It's not like I could marry, who would want me?

"Okay, let's go!" Utau cried, success filled her eyes, and triumph filled her actions, okay, I'm scaring myself with the poetic side of me. Now I know why I don't write often.

I groaned as I let myself be pulled by a group of fawning girls.

Okay, so guess who did my makeup? That's right, the part-time comedian, Rima Masashi, and one of my friendly friends, Amu, did my makeup, and Utau did my hair. All in all, it was a relaxing time. I got to help with makeup, hair and nails, whenever the person in charge was being made over. And as I must say, I did a pretty darn good job! Ahh… so modest I am.

By the time we were done, we got into our very pretty dresses.

Utau's dress was a very pale lavender color, shimmery, and floor length. Hugging each or her curves, she adorned some golden and silver bangles and a choker, which completed her outfit.

Rima had on a simple red number, cocktail style. With a 'V' neck for a collar, glass earrings and glass necklaces, she looked like a very bright star, Las Vegas style.

Now, for Amu's attire, she looked simply stunning in her yellow ball gown. It had an empire waist and flowed down to the floor. With a jeweled collar, there was no need for any fancy necklace, but she did where a pretty golden charm bracelet. Her bracelet was given to her by her stray cat, Ikuto, also known as her boyfriend.

I wasn't even in my dress when they were all ready.

"Honey, you need to get in your dress, your boyfriend will come any minute now." Rima cooed.

"He's not my boyfriend." I denied.

"Yet." Amu sang while twirling her hot pink hair.

I groaned as I went into the bathroom, dress in tow, "You know, I don't get why I have to do this." I yelled through the door.

"It's because you're a girl." Utau snorted back.

I stepped out into my room, wearing my dress unzipped, "Can somebody zip me up?" I asked, as I tied the silver sash around my stomach.

"Yeah sure, so what are you going to do with Chestnut?" Rima asked.

"A series of tricks that are even better than sitting and staying. He's going to do jumps and twirls. It's going to be spectacular." I sighed heavenly, "We've been working on it for months."

"But you never seem to put in the effort for anything else. Look where you ended it up, trafficking rich people, you could be this amazing doctor, I mean you went through all the motions like you were going to do something, but you end up here!"

"Are you done ranting about my life, Utau?" I asked calmly. Fixing my bun, and adjusting my dress, I looked in the full length mirror that I had.

With an empire waist, scoop neck collar, and green silky material it complimented the red bow that I donned on the sleeping Chestnut. A knock on the door marked that it was 6 o'clock.

"Hatori, Reiko is ready." I stepped out to see his eyes bulging as much as a serious face could manage.

"Hatori, let's escape while we still can. Chestnut!" I called, using the leash to clip onto my faithful dog. I slipped my arm into Hatori's arm and we walked off, "Don't forget to lock the door!" I called to my friends, who were squealing in delight. Somehow, it felt like déjà vu, almost like I went through these motions before. But, god, did it feel so right!

"You look amazing, Reiko." Hatori stated, his suit looked even more polished. His handsome eyes sparkled as he looked at me, and he didn't even realize that my shoes weren't on properly.

"Thank you so much!" I beamed at him. "Hatori, where are we going? This isn't the way to the ballroom." I said in surprise.

"I know, but I wanted to tell you something," Hatori started to say, only to be interrupted by my mother.

"Reiko, the performance is starting; you'll be on in fifteen minutes." She strutted her stuff right out of our view.

"Well, I guess I don't have as much time as I would have liked, but it'll do." He drew a breath before continuing, "I want to go on a date with you."

"Are you asking me out?" I asked, surprised some over achieving, handsome, smart, and good looking man would want and under achieving, messed up girl.

"Yes, I am." He gulped a little.

"Well I'll have to be inclined to say yes." I stated, looking into his eyes, a feat I have never accomplished before now.

Suddenly a _whoosh_ came from behind me, and my brother stood there. "Reiko, it's better if you go onstage now, that way you can warm up."

"Of course, Tadase. Hatori, your welcome to come with me, see how things are made for a change." I stated, not caring if he saw our warm up gig.

"No, it's okay, I promised I'd meet up with my family anyway. I'll see you on stage, I'll be in the front row, my family reserved those seats to watch you."

"Aww, how sweet," I squealed as I kissed him on the cheek, "see you soon, then, Hatori!"

I raced after my brother, my sweet, annoying brother. Mitsuru was coming tonight, without my mother's knowledge of course, and I was happy, everyone I cared about, even my father, were going to see me perform in front of everyone, and I finally got to bring joy to people's eyes.

"Chestnut, sit." I commanded once we were back stage, and after all, I was the first performer, so it didn't matter I was talking. "Chestnut, dance." I commanded again, and Chestnut did a funny little jiggling dance in front of us. "Good boy!" I said, treating my happy canine friend.

The fifteen minutes had gone by fast, and to my amazement, a loud voice interrupted me and Chestnut's warm-up.

"_And now, our first act, our own Ms. Reiko Hotori, performing with Chestnut._" The announcer person boomed. Great, now everyone knew my name. How dandy.

"This is it, Chestnut, your big break." I whispered to my dog, as I put a microphone on my dress.

A loud applause ripped through the hall. I saw, through the many bright lights, the Sohma family sitting in the front row, and Mitsuru next too Shigure. Did I happen to mention that I reserved a seat for my dear aunt?

"Thank you, everyone, it's a pleasure to be here today. I wanted to thank the man people who could make this possible, including my trusted friend, Chestnut, who agreed willingly to go through with this." A murmur went through the crowd in amusement. With that I started speaking English in a cool, calm, collected manner, as Chestnut jumped through hoops that got decreasingly smaller. He then did an agility course without hesitation or instruction; all the while I commentated on what we were going to do tonight, switching between Japanese and English.

When I was finally done, I was out of breath, and I gave tons of praise to my little puppy. I bowed, and Chestnut bowed, and the whole place caught on fire, I know it sounds weird, but oh was it true! Okay, not literally but still, it was damn hot in there.

I slipped behind the curtains with one last "Thank you" and went down to mingle in the ballroom (where everyone relocated after the long, entertaining show.

"Great job, Reiko" filled my ears as I searched for the Sohma family, and Mitsuru.

"That was a great performance, honey." My father had told me right after the show, not that I wanted him to be out of bed in his present condition. So I thanked him, and went to join my friends, waiting for everyone else to fall the ballroom. And when it did finally fill up, I went on my impossible mission of finding my Hatori. Wait, look at me, getting all possessive, he's not mine, it's not like he's a slave or anything, so why am I having these thoughts?

I finally found Hatori and his family talking to some rich couple. Momiji pointed to me, and Hatori turned with a small smile, but big enough to make my heart pound.

"Hello guys, did you know that pickles can be poured down pants?" I asked, keeping a straight face as I said it. Silence met my random comment, "What, you never tried?" I asked, pretending to be aghast.

"Stop fooling them, Reiko." A familiarly feminine voice said, happier now that she was out of the clutches of Shigure.

"Mitsuru!" I cried, hugging my young aunt. "I was just telling them something they should know." FAKE innocence, that's right, I could be an actor, a laughing, giggling, horrible actor.

"Mit-chan, such a pleasure to see you again!" Shigure cried leaping out of his skin, looking like he was about to play a practical joke on my poor aunt.

"Stay away, you demon! Ha! I said it, I finally said it! I'm free!" laughed my Mitsu-chan.

Shigure looked shock, "Reiko, want to go dance?" I grimaced, Hatori had just asked me too dance, my worst nightmare.

"Why don't we just go outside for a walk?" I suggested instead. Did I mention that I only dance when I'm drunk?

"But it's cold outside!" Shigure whined.

_Whack!_ "You're not invited." Hatori scolded.

"So, is that a yes?" I asked, poking him on the hand, so romantic right?

"Yeah," He said, he looked so serious but god he was sweet, look at me I'm a school girl with a crush! As we walked, he asked, "So, what are you doing tomorrow?"

I pretended to think for a second, "Either I'm going to work, blow it off and get fired, or become sick from drinking too much, which won't be a problem since I hate any liquor in my digestive track."

"So, work." Hatori summarized from my three choices.

"Yup, unless I get kidnapped by my ex-boyfriend, he got released from prison tonight." I said, looking at the sky, truly serious. After all, he did err… have some problems…

"I'll protect you." Hatori said, looking at me with almost a protective fierceness I've never seen before, not even on my father's face.

"Aw… thank you, Hatori!" I said, looking back at him this time, hugging him. He _kissed_ me. Okay, on the tip of my head, but still, it sent my heart into a never ending soar of a lifetime. We never ever kissed on the lips, ever, so I was curious. Could you blame me for pulling back from a quick embrace and kissing him full on the lips? He looked at me in surprise, but responded happily.

Just as we enjoyed ourselves a little more, a rustle in the bushes pulled us away, literally.

"Reiko, what the freaking hell do you think you're doing?" To think that my father had much strength at all was surprising, let alone rip me away from Hatori, unbelievable. But alas, that's what he did.

"I'm uh… discussing weather!" I came up within the second. Wow, I should probably think before I speak next time.

"Right," Papa said, disbelieving. "tell me the truth. This is your future husband right?"

"Papa!" I said, mortified. Then, he _laughed_. Crap. I fell into his evil clutches, and all for a joke. He, meaning my father, started hacking all to soon. "Papa, I command you to go to bed, I'll visit you later." I said, becoming all too serious when it came to his health.

"But, Reiko, I want to eat cake!" He whined, when he caught his breath.

"Do you want me to call Ms. Sayuri here? I'm sure she'll give you cake, if you go to bed." I pretended to bargain; I knew he would go back to bed without a fuss; after all, he's been drinking against my orders. And after all, I am his legal doctor, so he has to listen to me. Oh, and back to the whole drunk thing, it's why he was whining like a little kid.

"No, anything except Ms. Sayuri!" Papa yelled, a little to drunkenly, cause the next thing you know, Ms. Sayuri is here, sweeping him off to bed.

She uttered, "Goodnight Dr. Reiko." And she left. I hate it when a thing like this happens; it ruins my reputation of an underachiever.

"You're a doctor?" Hatori asked, looking surprised, bewildered, and slightly hurt.

"Well, duh, were else are you going to find an underachieving, poorly paid hotel doctor?" I said calmly, as I looked out at the pretty flowers.

"And you're the daughter of the owners?" he asked, looking shocked more than anything else.

"Yes, but I don't want to be a doctor, or a daughter of a wealthy couple. I want to make up my own destiny, not have it put on my shoulders." I said, looking at him this time, he had to know the truth.

"It's okay that you kept it from me, I understand. In turn I have something to tell you. I've been-"

"Hatori, there you are, it's time for cake!" Momiji called happily, interrupting Hatori, midsentence.

"Momiji, I'm talking to someone." He said coolly, wiping a piece of hair out of his eye.

"No, no, you go, Hatori, I'm just about pooped. I'm going to go visit my father anyway. I'll see you tomorrow." I said, and just about to scramble away, when he caught me by the hand, and kissed me goodnight, _on the lips_!

"Goodnight, Reiko." Hatori said, looking well guarded, his feelings, not physically, I'm pretty sure I could take him, even though I never would.

"Night, Hatori, see you tomorrow." I said, smiling while I left to go visit my father.

When I was well out of sight, I was hit with a sudden darkness. And I didn't faint either.

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**A/N- Oh my god, I got 3, and I mean 3 reviews! I'm so proud of you all who reviewed. Uh... let us see, I got over 3,500 words, I'm working up slowly the amount of words in each chapter. Thank you for all who reviewed, and please keep reviewing when you have the chance. Again, I can't update with at least 1 review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Piranha's Retreat: Chapter 5:**

Okay, maybe I did fall asleep after the darkness enveloped my eyes, but I swear I didn't faint. I never fainted before, so therefore I didn't faint now.

I don't know how long I was out of it, but when I did wake up, the darkness was different; I was simply in a dark room, with a bed, toilet, and a sink. Nothing like, let's say, a mirror where I could harm anyone with.

Damn. Why must I have this luck, to be handcuffed to the bed? Luckily the chain was long enough that I could easily move to the toilet and the sink. But anywhere towards the door, was simply impossible.

Have I mentioned that it smelled like lilacs?

"Katashi, I know your there. Show yourself!" I yelled into the darkness. The door opened slowly, and the light blinded me.

"Reiko, I see that you're awake," the evil voice of Katashi echoed throughout the room. Damn the high ceilings. Okay, so in High School, I dated this one boy, Katashi. At first everything went okay, but then I learned that he did drugs. Soon after I broke up with him, and right after someone called the police, turned out that he was a drug dealer too. He went to jail for god knows how long. And now, he was back.

"I see your just a screwed up as the day I broke up with you." I replied harshly.

_Slap_!

"Bitch," he snarled, "I'll make you pay for moving on."

"What do you mean? You're the only boyfriend I ever had." I said, surprised at him.

"I saw you kissing that guy; I also know you dated in high school. My spies told me so." He said. Surprising me again, _I never did date after him_, I thought. Why is he saying this?

"No, I didn't date in high school after you!" I screamed, hoping to god that someone would hear me.

_Slap_ again. Wow, he hits like a girl! Then, a flashback happened.

* * *

_"I love you so much!" I said, "I want to be with you forever, even if it's impossible."_

"_I love you too, Reiko." A deep voice answered, _familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"_I know! Why don't we go back to my house and see if my little brother is there, we could see if he needs help or something."_

* * *

"You're right." I said, the words coming out of my mouth without any knowledge of them being formed in my head.

"See, you lied." He said gloatingly. Wow, immature much?

"I guess I did." I said again, but this time I knew what I was doing, I was simply pretending to know what happened all those years ago.

Heck, I didn't even know if that flashback was real or not. Then I started to laugh. I was happy, for the first time in my life; I realized that I _dated_ another man, other than that blood sucking leach, aka a drug addict/trafficker.

"Crazy bitch," he snarled, "do you not realized that your life is in my complete control?"

"Oh really? I thought that my life was in the hands of my beloved Chestnut." I snorted sarcastically.

"Chestnut?" he asked sort of confusedly.

"My dog that I have to feed, so can I leave now?" I whined.

"No." he stated coldly. How cruel! My poor puppy, dying of loneliness and hunger, I could just writhe in pain.

He then did something surprisingly civil. He gave me some water. "Here, keep up you strength, because once you're willing, we'll go get married." He said, almost like he was living in a delusion.

So I played along, "And then we'll get a big castle, and live happily ever after." I said sarcastically.

"Thank you, Reiko, you finally get it!" he said, looking delighted, almost like a little kid getting his first bike. Crap.

"No, not really." I said lightly, totally not grasping the gravity of this situation. Okay, I know this will sound repetitive, but _slap_!

"Don't lie to my, crazy bitch." He whispered coldly in my ear.

"Aw, thanks! I'm being called a female dog!" I said, a tad too goofy for this current situation. He sighed.

"Perhaps a few days with no food will help rejuvenate your memory, and make you remember the lies you've been living." His words were more cryptic than his actions. He said next, "I'll unlock your cuffs if you be a good girl, and remember your life." He touched my nose, affectionately. Ew! Ew, ew! He touched me! Gross.

Okay, so this may not sound new, but I may be a tad bit crazy to some. I just call it eccentric.

He left, and sleep started to creep up on me, and before I knew it, I was off in dreamland.

* * *

The world around me changed_, I was still in private school, even after I found out that Katashi was dealing drugs. Of course I was lonely; nobody seemed to want to talk to me anymore._

_Stuck in my thoughts, I accidentally bumped into something. Upon being shoved out of my thoughts, I realized that something I bumped into was actually a someone._

"_Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I said, helping him up. Then I bowed at him. "I didn't realize that I was walking."_

_He laughed lightly, his deep voice surprising me, and his twinkling eyes looking amused, as he said, "No worries, it was partially my fault. I wasn't paying attention either." He laughed again, "My name is Hatori Sohma, and yours is…?" He prompted._

"_Oh, my name is Reiko Hotori." I said, I added, "My last name is so similar to your name, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah, it is, aren't you Katashi's girl?" he asked, I scowled._

"_Not anymore, I hate him." I stated simply._

"_Someone like you can hate?" he asked, before I could retort something, he added, "It's just that someone who looks as nice as you do, can't possibly hate."_

"_Are you trying to ask me something?" I asked suspiciously. Not sure whether or not he wanted to know about Katashi or not._

"_Yes, I'm not doing this too well, but would you like to go on a date with me?" he asked, looking nervous, but turned serious at the same time._

_I must have looked only a teensy bit surprised, because he opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by my, very loud, "Sure!"_

"_Really?" he asked, looking delighted, no acting required. Then, two guys came over, one with long, strait, platinum blond hair (either that or silver), and the other with short black hair, nothing like the style of Hatori's black hair though._

"_Haa-san, we've been looking for you everywhere!" The flamboyant silver haired guy said, just what this school needed, another rich, snotty, kid-like teen._

"_Aya-san, what about me, weren't we going to have fun tonight? Just the two of us?" the black haired guy said suggestively. Gay much?_

"_Ayame, Shigure, what do you need?" Hatori asked, seriously, as if he was covering up his amused and light side from his 'friends'. I wasn't even sure if they were his friends._

"_We were wondering if you'd like to come to a party tomorrow night. Akito is throwing the party!" the one called Shigure said, almost as if he was interested in this particular girl._

"_I'm sorry, I'm going on a date with Reiko tomorrow night." He said, looking at me, no, glancing at me with a desperate plea for help. I'm guessing he did NOT want to go to this party._

"_Sorry, boys, Hatori is taken!" I admitted easily, how was I going to resist the pleasure of pleasing this olive green eyed boy?_

"_Oh, maybe another time, then?" the boys asked, and left with the each other after a minute of awkward silence came between us._

"_So do you really want to go on a date with me tomorrow?" I asked, looking at him with as much curiosity as I could muster, "Or was that just a ruse to get out of that party?"_

"_No, I really want to go out with you. Just give me a chance? Please?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes._

_I sighed in defeat, while I said, "Yes, I'll give you a chance. Pick me up at 6 o'clock?" I half stated, half asked._

"_I will be on time!" he said, his happiness returned into his eyes. As he left to catch the late bus, I could have sworn I saw a flash of silver and black in the hallway, spying on _us_. Luckily I didn't have to take a late bus; my grandmother was there to pick me up instead._

* * *

I woke up with a start, sunlight was pouring through the little window, and just enough to tell me it was morning. Sitting up, I moved in a dreamlike state to get a drink of water. I was parched, and that's understating things.

"Why me?" I asked, looking at the little daylight I could see. Then, more to myself, than any unseen being out there, "Hatori, I thought you said you would save me? Please save me from these dreams, these strange dreams that you are in, and while you're at it, please save me from Katashi too." I pleaded.

Reluctantly I moved back to the bed, where I let my eyes rest and instantly I was swept back into the strange dreams.

* * *

"_Grandmother, how do I look?" I asked the first person I ran into. It was almost 6 o'clock. And I wasn't about to make Hatori wait._

"_Fine, Reiko. Just promise me you won't have sex." My grandmother said, embarrassing me slightly. She can rarely do that, but when she starts to talk about those, uh… acts, I always get embarrassed. I never even had sex with Katashi, so why would I have sex with Hatori, let alone on the first night?_

_Okay, enough rambling, I answered her with "I promise, grandmother, just make sure that Tadase doesn't meet Hatori until we go steady. Well, if we go steady." I asked, no pleaded. I didn't want my little brother meeting some guy that I met after school, until I was sure that he was an okay guy. Then I would trust my brother's instinct to see if he's worthy of me. My brother despised Katashi, and I made fun of him for that. But now I know to trust him on this subject. He's really good at this sort of things._

"_I shall do that." She said, after kissing me on the forehead. "Be careful, dear."_

"_Okay, Grandmother!" I said, rushing downstairs to get the doorbell that just rung at exactly 6 o'clock. "Coming!" I yelled down the hallway. As I raced down the hallway, I got a glimpse of what I wore, which was a white tank-top, a forest green miniskirt, a silver charm bracelet of the twelve Chinese zodiac, and silver gladiator sandals._

_As I opened the doors, my parents came into view. My mother had her stern look, while my father held a semi-happy face._

"_Reiko," Mother said, just before I opened the door, "have fun." She said as she smiled slightly._

_Father just said, "Be home before 11 o'clock." And then, as if he read my mind, "And I mean in tonight, not the morning."_

_I just laughed, as I opened the door. "Hatori, these are my parents." I said to my date._

"_How do you do, Mr. and Mrs. Hotori?" he asked politely._

"_Fine, thank you." Mother said curtly, then said more softly, "Take care of my little girl."_

"_Mother, I can hear you!" I said, mortified, as she laughed one of her snorting laughs._

"_Bye, kids!" mother said, as I nearly dragged Hatori out of my house._

"_Sorry about that Hatori! I didn't realize how much my parents could embarrass me so quickly!" I said. He was wearing a blazer, with a green polo shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans. "By the way, where are we going?" I asked, I wanted to know where we were going._

"_I thought we could go to a local fair. I thought that would be more fun than going to a diner or a movie."_

_I smiled, "I hate movie theatres. I can never sit still for more than an hour." I said, relieved. I was on the brink of pulling out the puppy dog eyed arsenal before he said the local fair. But I swallowed that urge once he said our destination._

"_I had that feeling when I saw how much energy you had." Hatori noted, not rudely, kindly, almost affectionately. My mind screamed 'TOO SOON!' I mean, who would think somebody would like me after my previous relationship. I mean, why the crap would he be affectionate to me, unless he had a long standing crush on me, which was so impossible, I could laugh. I mean I was UGLY!_

_As I got in the car, which was a black car, I realized how gentlemanly Hatori really was. He opened the door for me, granted I almost ran into the car, but that's a whole different story._

"_Hatori, do you like dogs? Like, I mean love them with all your heart." I asked, suddenly looking very serious. Katashi hated dogs, so much he killed my dog once we broke up. Unfortunately I didn't have the nerve to tell my parents, grandmother, or my baby brother what my ex did._

"_Of course! My cousins have a dog, and I simply love her. Her name is Chinatsu, and is simply adorable." Hatori said, showing his soft side. "Do you have any dogs?"_

"_Not anymore, Betty died at the hands of Katashi." I blurted out after an uncomfortable silence. "Oh no! Please don't tell anyone that I said that. Mother and Father will lecture me, and Grandmother will faint, and my baby brother will throw a fit!" I almost continued to rant, but luckily he cut me off._

"_Don't worry; your secret is safe with me." Hatori said, earnestly._

_I leaned on his shoulder, "Thanks, Hatori." I murmured._

* * *

I jerked awake. It was night, and Katashi was staring at me in the room. "You're awake." He stated simply as he walked towards me. He climbed into the bed, and kissed me. Eww!

"Get away from me, Katashi." I ordered, he came closer, and pinned me to the bed.

"I heard you were still a virgin." Katashi said, in a voice that once would have melted my legs. But being chained to a bed put a damper on things. And also the knowledge that I was dealing with a mentally unstable guy changed the fact.

"I- hey! Get the hell off of me!" I said, as he stroked my hair. He kissed me again, I shrieked a heartfelt shriek. A loud bang followed by, "Clear!" was issued.

"Crap!" Katashi snarled, and he unlocked me, then grabbed me by the hair. He somehow got hold of a gun, and pointed it to my head. "One more move, and I'll blow her brains out." He said, not caring if he lost me forever. Wow, true love he shows towards me.

"Put down the gun!" A serious voice said, "Nobody has to get hurt."

"You'll take her away from me, and that's worth my death." He said, as he slowly pointed the gun to _his _head.

"No, put down the gun!" the police officer said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and frowning.

I felt something warm travel down my cheek, I swear, I was almost silently hysterical.

_BOOM!_

And a flash of light, I felt a thick warm liquid rolling down my back. I screamed again.

"Miss, are you okay?" He asked, the police officer looked at me worriedly. I tried to thrash away from him as he touched my hand. No success. "Call the paramedics!" He barked at his men. "Miss, my name is Yuu Nikaidou, I want you to tell me your name."

"Why me?" I asked, as I succumbed to the fitful dream filled sleep, that I was starting to get accustomed too.

"Hurry with those paramedics. She's losing consciousness."

* * *

**Author's Note: I have lately been editing the existing chapter that are up. You shall notice it because I have erased my little rants (hopefully nothing too important) and just wrote "This chapter has been updated (roughly)". Mostly I have edited them, but mostly grammer and such. :( I'll probably take some more time to edit it later. (BTW mistakes including details and such may have been edited)**

**Also I may not be able to update soon. Mostly because the main computer (the one that connects to the internet) decided to be an evil tempermental piece of junk. Therefor the USB port does not work, and therefor I can't use my Flash Drive. The laptop that I type on happens to have had a few viruses on it, therefor damaging the internet browser, and my father has yet to get it fixed for me. So, if I was to post something I would have to post it through the library computers. Which I may do, but it is annoying to do it that way.**

**Sorry for not updating. :( But once I do, I'll try to do a double post if I can muster up my lazy motivation!**


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